The Substitute
by Sybil Rowan
Summary: Short piece on how Doctor S feels about handing over Heavyarms to a talented, nameless boy and how he feels to be rid of the Barton Foundation.


Title: The Substitute

Author: Sybil Rowan

Pairing(s)/Characters: None/ Doctor S

Rating: K

Summary: Short piece on how Doctor S feels about handing over Heavyarms to a talented, nameless boy and how he feels to be rid of the Barton Foundation.

Warnings: None. Takes place about two days after Trowa Barton's murder and No-Name volunteering to take his place.

Author's Notes: This is NOT like my other stories in the least, but I still think it's fun. I usably don't write like this, but I think it's a good attempt at Doctor S's voice. I am working on a second piece like this for episode twenty when Trowa catches Heero's sabotage attempt.

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is owned by Bandai Sunrise Entertainment.

Beta Reader: My husband, WingedPanther73!

Date Written: July 19, 2009 (9:50am)

Word Count: 916

The nameless boy wasn't my first choice as a pilot for my Gundam, but I've grown comfortable with the idea. My choices are limited so I have to work with what I have, and I had to work quicker if our murder wasn't to be discovered by Dikun. I don't have the best situation at this moment, but something tells me that fate has been very kind to me once again with the elimination of Trowa Barton.

Dikun's son was about to bring disaster on the whole earth. Not just those vicious men of the Organization of the Zodiac, but the whole Earth Sphere Alliance as well. He wanted to punish the whole earth for the murder of Heero Yuy because it's what the Barton Foundation wants, total chaos.

The Bartons cite the noble intention of bringing the space colonies together and gaining freedom from earth's control. I know better; Dikun wants to rule. The man is not stupid enough to put himself directly on the throne. He'd set up a puppet with some legitimate claim. I just can't have that. It would conflict with the meticulous plans Doctor Jiro had orchestrated with us. The Organization of the Zodiac was the only target for Project Meteor and it must remain so.

I was worried when my assistant suddenly shot Trowa in the back. We had been relying on the Barton Foundation's money and protection. Upon hearing about his son's murder, Dikun wouldn't hesitate to kill every one of my people, take Heavyarms as his own, and then find some horrible punishment for my disloyalty towards him. Yes, my really loyalty lay with the other four scientists and our plans.

"Doctor S, the adjustments to the Gundam are finished."

I swirled around to see the nameless green-eyed boy behind me; I still couldn't think of him as Trowa Barton. "Are you sure you wanted these changes? You are left handed, therefore, I find that justifiable, but the over weighting will make the balance awkward."

"If I have the weights memorize rather than programed in, it will give me several advantages. No one will be able to pilot it beside me. It will make the response time quicker because the controls will bypass directly to the hydraulic relays. Also, anyone I fight close quarters will be taken off guard by the left-handed mobile suit and the extra weight. I will have the advantage."

"You'll have to be one of the best to control something like this."

"I'm not a novice," he reminded me. I nodded. I still didn't know much about the boy other than he had been indentured to a troop of mobile suit mercenaries. I selected him from a group of homeless people that had migrated from earth.

His aptitude for electrical and mechanical work was phenomenal, but the boy never took any of my compliments gracefully. I had planned to send him to Howard after Project Meteor started, because he was just too talented to languish away without mentor. Now he'd fill another role.

"You need to launch now. I'll handle erasing all the weight information from the hydraulic relays and then you can leave."

"I've already done that, Doctor. Heavyarms is complete."

"Good. Remember one very important order. Anyone from OZ who sees this Gundam is to die. No exceptions. You are to kill OZ soldiers and sabotage every OZ base you come across."

"Those who lay eyes on my Gundam shall not live to tell about it."

"If you can't handle killing..."

"My hands aren't pure." His voice was crisp, but impassive; his empty eyes were fixed on Heavyarms. "I can do what you ask of me without hesitation. By the way, adopting Trowa Barton's name should also buy you a little extra time."

"I know. We'll evacuate a half an hour after you launch. Good luck."

The nameless boy nodded at me and took a photo out of his pocket. I was surprised to see the photo Trowa Barton carried around of his niece, Marimaia. The nameless boy tucked it away and walked over to Heavyarms. I was baffled as to why he was carrying it, he had no ties to the Bartons or anyone else.

If I had to guess, I think the nameless boy was trying to feel some emotion or to reorient himself back towards the notion of human attachment. I wasn't sure what it was, but I could tell he had suffered great losses in his life. I did sincerely hope he found what he was looking for on the earth, but more importantly, I hoped this random, unknown would be able to fulfill the monumental task of being a Gundam pilot.

End.


End file.
